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J. V. FREDD Nov. 5, 1963 VALVE 6 Sheets-Sheetl 1 Original Filed Sept.13, 1956 J. V. FREDD Nov. 5, 1963 VALVE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original FiledSept. 13, 1956 Mm/.Wf y

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United States Patent O VALVE John V. Fredd, Dallas, Tex., assigllor, bymesne assignments, to Otis Engineering Corporation, Dallas, Tex.,

a corporation of Delaware Original No. 3,0il7,669, dated Nov. 7, 1961,Ser. No.

609,584, Sept. 13, 1956. Application for reissue Jan.

28, 1963, Ser. No. 239,870

39 Claims. (Cl. 251-31) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in theoriginal patent but forms no part of this reissue specification; matterprinted in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

This invention relates to valves of the type having a valve memberrotatable between opened and closed positions by means of a controlpressure. More particularly, this invention relates to improvements in avalve of the type `disclosed and claimed in a copending patentapplication entitled Valve" Serial No. 608,081, tiled by lames H.Bostock on September 5, 1956, now Patent No. 2,894,- 715 of July 14,1959.

The illustrated embodiment of the valve of the aforementioned copendingapplication is especially well suited for use at a subsurface level inthat it is controllable from a remote location, such `as la source ofcontrol uid at ground level, `and further in that the valve memberthereof is rotatable to a position providing a straight-through fullopening. The fluid pressure-operated actuator for so rotating the valvemember is preferably reciprocable longitudinally within the valve body,so as to reduce the crosssection thereof, an-d is urged in oppositedirections by relatively large forces so as to be positive of action inopening or closing the valve under all line pressure conditions. In thepreferred form of this valve, the actuator is disposed with a spaceannularly of the passageway through the valve body and closed againstthe admission of solids within the line lluid. `It is contemplatedfurther that this space will be formed by tubular members `'axiallyaligned to define the passageway through the valve and having seats uponopposite sides of the valve member. One of said tubular members is soarranged that its seat exerts a force on the valve member which isconsiderably less than the force required for moving the actuator, andsubstantially no greater than that required in excluding solids from theclosed space. ln this manner, friction on the valve member is reduced toa minimum and it can be turned with relative ease.

An object of the present invention is to provide a valve of the generalcharacter above-described in which the valve member is moved betweenopened and closed positions with greater mechanical advantage.

Another object is to provide a valve of the character described in theforegoing object, in which the actuator t" or the valve member is urgedin a direction opposite that toward which it is urged by control fluidby a force due to either control fluid or line uid.

Yet another object is to provide a valve of the general characterabove-described in which both valve seats are maintained in seatingengagement with the valve member with a considerably smaller force thanis required to move the actuator; and, more particularly, wherein theseats are so maintained during longitudinal as well as rotary movementof the valve membenbetween opened and closed positions.

Still another object is to provide a valve of the character described inthe aforementioned copending application in which the valve memberthereof has a compound movement between opened `and closed positionswhich assists it in closing.

A further object is to provide a valve of the character outlined in theforegoing object, in which at least one of the seats is urged intoseating engagement with the valve Re. 25,471 Reis-sued Nov. 5, 1963 ICCmember by the same source of control fluid which urges the reeiprocableactuator in one direction.

Other objects, advantages and features of this invention will beapparent to one skilled in the art upon la consideration of the writtenspecification, the attached claims and the annexed drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters are used throughoutto designate like parts:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are longitudinal sectional views of the upper and lowerportions, respectively, of `a subsurface valve constructed in accordancewith the present invention, `and with the valve member thereof in fullyopened position.

FIGS. 2 to 4 are longitudinal sectional views of the middle portion ofthe valve of FIGS. 1A and 1B, FIG. 4 showing the valve member in lclosedposition and FIGS. 2 and 3 showing such valve member in positionsintermediate opened and closed positions.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the valve of FIGS. 1A and 1B, takensubstantially along broken line S-S of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the valve member, seats, andactuator or control frame for moving the valve member of the valve ofFIGS. l to 5;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the upper portion of anothervalve constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged detail view of a spring used in connection withthe valve of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional View of still another valveconstructed in accordance with this invention, and in which the controlframe thereof is positively urged in both directions by a control fluid;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the valve of FIG. 9, takensubstantially along broken line 10-10 of FIG. 9;

FIGS. l1 and 12 are longitudinal sectional views of a further valveconstructed in `accordance with this invention in its opened and closedpositions, respectively;

FIGS. 13 and 14 are longitudinal sectional views of a still furthervalve constructed in `accordance with this invention, in its opened andclosed positions, respectively; and

FIG. l5 is a cross-sectional view of the control frame of the valve ofFIGS. 13 and 14, removed from the valve body thereof and as seen `alongbroken line 15-15 of FIG. 14.

Referring now in detail to the above-described drawings, the valveillustrated in FIGS. lA, 1B and 2 to 6 comprises a valve body 20 havinga passageway 21 therethrough and connectable at its opposite ends in aflow line. More particularly the valve body 20 will be seen from FIGS.1A and 1B to comprise a centrally disposed, longitudinally extendingsleeve portion 22 threadedly connected at its upper end to sub 23 andconnected to sub 24 at its lower end, in a manner to be describedhereinafter. As in the case of the aforementioned copending application,the ow line may comprise a production tubing within a well with thevalve disposed at a subsurface level therein and having a iiuidconnection with a source of pressure fluid at ground level for actuatingsame. Alternatively, the flow line may be a pipe line at `a remotelocation above ground wherein it would be desirable or necessary tocontrol opening and closing of the valve from a more convenientlocation. It is further contemplated that the diameter of the passageway21 will correspond at least approximately to the minimum diameter of theflow line so that it will be full-opening.

Disposed substantially coextensively of the sleeve 22 of the valve bodyand in surrounding relation to the passageway 21 are a pair of spacedapart and oppositely facing spherical seats 25 and 25a. A ball valvemember 26 having an opening 27 therethrough is seatable between the seatand 25a for rotation about an axis transverse to the axis of the opening27 between opened (FIG. 1A) and closed (FIG. 4) positions. As best shownin FIG. 1A, the diameter of the opening 27 corresponds to that of thepassageway 21 so that the valve is straight-through and full-opening.

As also discussed `in the aforementioned copending application, the ballshape of the valve member is preferred due to its greater adaptabilityto seating as well as the fact that it requires a minimum of spacewithin the valve. However, it is contemplated that the valve member maybe cylindrical or even conical, `in which case modifications to theillustrated structure would be obvious to one skilled in the art.

The passageway 21 is defined by the inner diameter of rst and secondtubular members 28 and 29 which are arranged substantially coaxially ofone another and concentrically within the sleeve 22 of the valve body toprovide an annular space therebetween. More particularly, the seats 25and 25a are formed on the oppositely facing ends of the tubular members28 and 29, respectively.

As distinguished from the valve `illustrated in the aforementionedcopending application, however, both of the tubular members 28 and 29are guidably movable longitudinally within the valve body in sealedrelation thereto so as to close both opposite ends 30a and 30h of thespace 30. More particularly, an O-ring 31 or other sealing member isreceived within an enlarged diameter portion 32 of the sub 23 to `form asliding seal with the upper end of the tubular member 28, and as shownin FIG. 1B, an O-ring 33 is received Within an enlarged diameter portion34 of the lower sub 24 of the valve body for sealing engagement withrespect to the lower end of tubular member 29.

The valve member 26 is rotated between closed and fully opened positionsby means of a cylindrical actuator or control frame 35 which islongitudinally reciprocable within the enclosed space 30. Moreparticularly, the control frame 35 is provided at its upper end with anannular piston 36 sealably slidable within the space 30 to dene avariable capacity pressure chamber 37 between the upper pressureresponsive surface 38 of the piston 36 and the closed upper end 30a ofthe space. Thus, the `inner diameter of the control frame 35 carries anO-ring 39 sealably slidable with respect to the outer diameter oftubular member 28, and the inner diameter of a lower portion of sub 23carries an O-ring 40 for scaling with respect to the outer diameter ofthe piston 36. This lower portion of the sub 23 carrying the 0- ring 40also carries an O-ring 40a on its outer diameter for sealing withrespect to the inner diameter of sleeve portion 22 of the valve bodybeneath its threaded connection with the sub 23.

A port 41 is provided through the valve body, and more particularly,`through the upper sub 23 thereof, for communication with the variablecapacity pressure chamber 37. As in the case of the aforementionedcopending application, it is contemplated that the control Huid will behydraulic so that the pressure fluid admitted to the chamber through theport 41 will urge the control frame 35 in a downward direction, whilethe exhaust of such control iiuid, which relieves the pressure on thepressure responsive surface 38 of piston 36, will permit the frame to bemoved in an opposite, or upward, direction by means to be described. Inthe case of subsurface valves, the force `for urging the control frame35 upwardly will be resisted by the weight of the column of hydraulicfluid thereabove.

Control fluid may be supplied from any suitable source, such as alocation remote from the valve, and selectively admitted to or exhaustedfrom the pressure chamber 37 by either manual or automatic means. In thelatter case. such control may be made responsive to a predeterminedcondition at the source of the control lluid or Cit another location.Furthermore, in the case of a subsurface valve, the control fluid may besupplied through a small line or conductor 42 connected to the port l41and extending upwardly to a source of such iluid at ground level, inwhich case, of course, production flow would be upwardly through thevalve. As shown in FIG. 1A, the sub 23 may be recessed at `43 to permitthe threaded lower end `44 of the line 42 to be connected to a tappedopening 45 in the sub 23 communicating with port 41.

In this particular embodiment of the invention, the control frame 35 isurged upwardly, or in a direction opposite that toward which it is urgedby control uid within the variable capacity pressure chamber 37, and theseat 25a is urged into seating engagement with the valve member byspring means disposed concentrically outwardly of the passageway 21therethrough and bearing against the frame and tubular member 29,respectively. This spring means will be so designed as to exertsutiicient force on the control frame to positively open or close thevalve upon the relief of the pressure of the control fluid within thepressure chamber 37, while at the same time exerting a lesser `force onthe seat 25a to reduce frictional resistance to turning of the valvemember. Thus, as mentioned in connection with the aforementionedcopending application, the valve is especially `well suited for lowpressure installations. Of course, in installations wherein the linefluid is under high pressure, the spring means for urging the `frame maybe so designed as to exert less force.

In its preferred form, this spring means includes a irst coil spring 46disposed between the closed end 30h of the space 30 which is formed on`the inner end of the sub 24 and an annular bearing part 47 on thesecond tubular `member 29, and a second coil spring 48 disposed betweenthe bearing part 47 and a thrust ring 49 on the lower end of the controlframe 35. As shown in FIG. 1B, the second tubular member 29 is, forassembly purposes, formed in two parts 29a and 29h which, whenassembled, are sealed with respect to one another by means of O-ring 50.The bearing part 47 is disposed on the lower part 29b.

This spring means acts upon the control frame 3S to urge it upwardlywith the relatively large force required to insure positive movement ofthe valve member to one of its positions. On the other hand, the springs46I and 48 act oppositely to one another with respect to the secondtubular member 29 so that, with the force exerted by th-e spring 48 atleast approaching that due to the spring 46, the seat 25a will exertonly a light force upon the valve member 26. The upper seat 25 is causedto exert a correspondingly light seating force on the opposite side ofthe valve member 26 by means of a relatively small annular pistou Sl onthe outer diameter of tubular member 28, which is urged downwardly bycontrol iluid within the pressure chamber 37. As can be seen from FIGS.1A and 4, the piston 36 surrounding piston `51 is Vof considerablylarger size so as to urge the control `frame 35 in one direction with aconsiderably larger force.

During most of the opening and closing movements of the `valve member,the space 3|) will be fully exposed to line uid within the passagewaythrough the valve, as illustrated in FIG. 3. However, the valve memberwill be in such intermediate positions during only short and isolatedperiods of time, and ordinarily it will be in either the open positionof FIG. 1A or the closed position of FIG. 4, so as to close off thespace 30 against the admission thereto of solids in the line fluid.

It is contemplated that the piston 51 may be so designed and the springs46 and 48 so arranged and related that the seating force on the valvemember is light so as to permit easy turning ofthe valve member. Thus,when the valve member is in either of said opened or closed positions,there will be leakage across the upstream scat sufficient to permit thcspace to breathe, but insuliicieat to permit the admission of solids.

In view of the foregoing, it is obvious that there is pressureequalization between fthe space and passageway during most of themovement of piston 36, which might otherwise change the pressure of thefluid within the space. The movement of the piston toward the start andfinish of the opening and closing movements of the valve member (seeFiG. 2) is, of course, small, and has little tendency to change thepressure of the fluid within the space 30. Should large changes inpressure of the line tluid flowing through the open valve be found tocause throttling across the upstream seat, a vent may be providedbetween the space and passageway, although it is preferred to limitpressure equalization between the space and passageway to the leakageaforementioned.

It will also be noted, as distinguished from the valve of theaforementioned copending application, that both of the springs 46 and 48are disposed within the space so as to be protected, along with thecontrol frame 35, from solids within the Huid flowing through the valve.Thus, the annular bearing part 47 does not have a sliding seal withrespect to the inner diameter of the sleeve portion 22 of the valvebody.

ln installations in which the 'fluid flowing through the valve isuncontaminated, the space 3l) need not necessarily bc closed at itslower end lib. However, the construction shown in the above-describediigures is preferred not only since it provides a positive movement forthe valve member under a wide range of pressure conditions, but alsobecause it protects the actuating parts of the valve member from anysolids which might be in the fluid flowing through the well and urgesthe lower seat 25a into seating engagement with the valve member with arelatively light force. Still further, it can be seen from the drawingsthat each of the springs 46 and 48 is disposed on the side of the valvemember 26 opposite from the piston 36 so that an intermediate portion ofthe control .frame (see broken lines of FIGS. l to 4) between lhe piston36 and thc thrust ring 49 may surround the valve member in closelyspaced relation thereto.

For assembly purposes, the control frame 3S is made up of a plurality ofseparate parts which may be assembled into the integral unit shown inthe drawings. More particularly, the control frame includes an upperportion S2. having the annular piston 36 at its upper end and carryingthe O-ring `39 toward its lower end. This upper portion 524 oi thecontrol trame is movable above the valve seat 25 longitudinally withinthe space 3l) and is connected to an intermediate portion 53 of thecontrol frame by means of a T slot connection 54. As best shown in FIG.6, the enlarged ends of the tubular members 28 and 29 upon which seats2S and 25a are formed are machined away as at 5S and 56, respectively,so as to permit the intermediate portion 53 of the control frame to beextended along opposite sides of the valve member 2.6 between said valvemember and the sleeve portion 22 of the valve body 29.

The lower end of the intermediate portions 53 of the control trarne arekeyed as. at 58 to a lower portion 57 thereof upon which the thrust ring49 is disposed. As can be seen from FIGS. 1A, 4 and FIG. 6, theintermediate portion 53 is reduced in width beneath the slottcdconnection 5dso as to provide longitudinally extending spaces betweenlaterally extending anges on said intermediate portions and oppositelyfacing ledges on the lower portion 57, the purpose of which space willbe more apparent hereinafter.

The valve member 26 is connected to the above-dcscribcd control frame 35for rotation between closed and fully opened positions in response toreciprocation of the control frame longitudinally within the annularspace 36. More particulanly, in the embodiment illustrated, the valvemember is rotated to closed position (FiG. 4) upon the exhaust ofcontrol fluid from the chamber 37 to move the frame into its uppermostposition, wherein further upward movement is prevented by the engagementof piston 51 with the closed end 30a of space 30. Gn the other hand, thevalve member is rotated to fully opened position (FIG. 1A) upon theadmission of such fluid into the chamber 37 to move the frame into itslowermost position, wherein further downward movement is prevented byengagement of the control frame with parts 62 as shown and to bedescribed hereinafter in connection with FIG. 6. Obviously, however,this arrangement could be reversed so that, for example, the valvemember would open in response to relieving of the pressure within thechamber 37.

As in the case of the valve of the aforementioned copending application,the connection of the valve member with the control frame comprisesinterengaging cam lugs on one and cam slots on the other 0f the controlframe and opposite sides of the valve member. However, in accordancewith the present invention, an arrangement is provided which exerts acouple on the valve member in moving it between open and closedposition. This arrangement includes substantially rectangularly shapedcam slots S9 formed in opposite sides of the valve member extendingtransversely to the axis of rotation of the valve member, and cani lugs60 on the control frame and cam lugs 61 ilxedly mounted in the valvebody 22 operatively engaged within the slot 59. More particularly, thecam slots 59 extend across the axis of rotation of the ball-shaped valvemember 26 and each Of the cam lugs 6i) and 61 is mounted on the controlframe and valve body 22, respectively, for engagement with the cam slotsupon opposite sides of the axis of rotation of a valve member. Thus,upon reciprocation of the control frame in the manner above-described,the valve member is caused by cam lugs 60 to pivot about an axis definedby the cam lugs 6l mounted in the valve body, with the cam lugs 60 and6l sliding toward and away from one another within the cam slot 59, in amanner to be described.

lt will be understood that this pivoting of the valve member during itsrotation about an axis extending transversely to the longitudinal axisof the valve body causes the valve member to have a compound movementbetween opened and closed position, which consists of a longitudinal aswell as a concurrent rotational component. Thus, as the valve membercloses-for example, when it approaches the position of FlG. B-there willbe a pressure drop thercacross which tends to move it longitudinallyupward. This, of course, supplements the torce on the control framewhich is urging the valve member in the same direction, so that thislongitudinal component of movement of the valve member assists inclosing the valve.

It will be appreciated that with the cam lugs 6i) and 61 oitset onopposite sides of the rotational axis of the valve member 26, said valvemember, and thus the seats 25 and 25a will move longitudinally betweenopened and closed positions a distance less than the longitudinalmovement of the control frame. Thus, for example, with the lugs spacedequally on opposite sides ot such axis, the longitudinal movement of thevaive member will be one-halt that oi the control frame. In theillustrated embodiment of the valve, the cam lugs 61 are only onehait asfar from this axis as are the cam lugs 60, so that the longitudinalmovement of the valve member and seats is only one-third that of thecontrol frame. Thus, although there has been a sacrifice of at least 25%in the maximum etlfective moment arm between the axes of the lugs 60 and61, this arrangement not only permits shortening of the entire assembly,but also increases the mechanical advantage of the force of the controlframe transmitted through the valve member for moving the seats from2-to-1 to 3-to-1.

Referring now in detail to the construction of this connection, thefixed cam lugs 61 include pivots mounted on inserts 62 welded withinopenings 63 provided in the valve body 2B. These pivots are surroundedby blocks 64 which are rotatable about the pivots and provide largebearing surfaces for engagement with opposite sides of cam slot 59. Thepivots making up the cam lugs 6U are lixedly mounted on the slender partof the intermediate portions 53 of the control frame and are surroundedby rotatable rollers 65 which are engageablc with opposite Sides of thecum slots 59 to facilitate movement of the cam lugs 60 toward and awayfrom the cam lugs 6l.

More particularly, the opposite sides of the valve member `upon whichthe slots 59 are provided are iiattened as at 66 and thc control frameportions 53 are chordal in cross-section so that the connection of thecontrol frame and valve body may be disposed between the valve memberand inner diameter of the valve body without substantially increasingthe size of the valve body beyond that required to accommodate theball-shaped valve member.

The inner periphery of the upper seat 2S, which in the describedenvironment constitutes the downstream seat, is provided with a hardmetal insert 67. It is also contemplated that the spherical surfaceforming the seat 25 on the lower end of tubular member 28 may be to aslightly larger radius than the outer diameter of the valve member 26whereby a lubricant may be disposed within the small space so providedoutwardly ofthe inserts 67.

Turning now to a summary of the operation of the above-described valve,and `assuming it to be in open position of FIG. 1A, it will be seen thatthe control frame 35 and thus the cam lugs 60 have been m ved to theirlowermost position by the force exerted thereon due to control liuidwithin pressure chamber 37, such force being sufliciently strong toovercome the torce duc to spring 48. At the same time, each of the seats25 and 25a are urged into seating engagement with opposite sides of thevalve member, `the upper seat being urged downwardly due to the forceexerted upon the annular piston l by control lluid in the chamber 37,and the lower seat a being urged upwardly by the force vdue to spring 46less that due to spring 48. It will also be noted that in this position,the lower end of the tubular member 29 is freely received within theenlarged diameter portion 34 of the Sub 24. Also, of course, the O-rings31 and 33 carried by the upper and lower ends of the valve body providea sliding seal with respect to the tubular members 2SI and 29 so thatthe space 30 is sealed against the admission of solids within the fluidliowing through the valve. Each of the separate parts 29a and 29h of thelower tubular member 29 are urged into the telescoping sealed relationshown in FIGS. lB and 4 by virtue of the above-dcscribed force on part29h. On the other hand, the inten mediate portions 53 and lower portion57 of the control frame are maintained in interiitting relation by meansof the oppositely acting forces on the control frame duc to controlliuid and the spring 48.

Upon the relief of pressure within the chamber 37 by the exhaustion ofcontrol lluid therefrom, the control frame is moved upwardly by theforce of the spring #t8 thereon. This, of course, causes the cam lugs6i) to act upwardly against the cam slots S and pivot the ball valvemember 26 about an axis defined by rotational asis of the cam lugs 61lixed to the valve body. During this pivotal movement of the valvemember, and consequent rotation thereof toward the closed position ofFlG. 4, the cam lugs and 6l are caused to move toward one another to theposition indicated in FIG. 3, wherein the valve member has been movedone-half of the way to its closed position. Continued movement ol thecontrol frame and cam lugs 60 upwardly causes the cam lugs 60 and 61 tomove away from one another until the control frame reaches its uppermostposition oi FIG. L'l to close the valve member. As previously mentioned,however, the concurrent upward movement oi the vulve rziembcr during itsrotation to closed position supplements the lll 8 force oll the controlframe and thus assists in closing the valve member.

Of course, while the control fluid within the chamber 37 is beingexhausted, there will still bc lluid pressure within the chamber 37 foracting upon piston 5l to maintain upper seat Z5 in engagement with thevalve member. On the other hand, the spring means will continue tomaintain lower seat 25a in engagement with the opposite side of thevalve member duringy such upward movement of the control frame. Also, oicourse, the separate parts of the control frame are maintained in matingrelation duc to the maintenance of opposing pressures thereon. Thus,during such closing movement of the valve member, the Control framecontinues to act as an integral unit and the tubular members 28 and 2liare maintained in seating relation with the valve member. Furthermore,`the aforementioned siiding seals provided by Owings 31 and 33 continueto seal `off the space 30 at its opposite ends, and the enlargeddiameter portion 32 on upper sub 23 accommodates the upper end oftubular member 28. (See FIG. 4.)

The valve member is returned to the open position of FIG. l by theadmission of control fluid to the chamber 37 so as to force the controlframe 35 downwardly `'against the force of the spring 48. It will beobvious that during such movement, the separate parts of the controlframe will be maintained as an integral unit, the seats will remain inseating engagement `with the valve member, and the space 30 will remainclosed at its opposite ends, as in the case of the movement or" thevalve member from open to closed position.

This valve is also provided with means, in addition to thatabove-described, for closing same, which means is particularlywell-suited for subsurface valves inasmuch as it closes the valveautomatically upon severing of the Well tubing thereabove. Thus, forexample, should the wellhead equipment be destroyed or damaged in someway, this valve would provide a safety control over the well by shuttingoff the production therefrom at a subsurface level below the wellheadequipment.

Thus, with reference to FIG. 1B, the lower end of the sleeve portion 22of the valve body is threadedly conneeted to a retainer part 68 whichsupports a shear pin 69 for connection with the sub 24. It will beunderstood that with the tubing beneath the valve fixedly supported inthe well, the weight of tubing severe-d above the valve would be imposedupon the valve body so as to shear the pin 69 and permit the sleeveportion 22 to move downwardly relative to the sub 24. Obviously, thisdownward movement of the sleeve portion 22 of the valve body forces camlugs 61 downwardly against cam slots 59, compresses the spring 46, androtates the valve member to closed position. As can be seen from FIG.IB, the upper outer portion of sub 24 is provided with an O-ring 7i) toseal with the inner diam-eter of the lower end of sleeve portion 22above retainer 68.

The embodiment of the valve illustrated in part in FIG. 7 differs fromthat previously described in a manner to malte it particularly useful ina string of drill pipe at a point either just below or just above thekelly of the rotary table of well drilling equipment. Thus, in th:`event of a blowout or threatened blowout during the drilling of n well,the operator may readily close the valve in a manner to be describedhereinafter.

Thus, in accordance with its preferred environment, the valve body 17may be connected at its opposite ends in a drill string either justabove or just below the kelly. Thus the valve body 71 includes anintermediate sleeve portion 72, the upper end of which is connected bycoarse threads 73 to a sub 74, which is in turn eonnectable in the drillstring. More particularly, the threads 73 are pcvcnted from loosening bylock screws 75 which are held against backing out by means of snap rings76 disposed within n groove circumicrentially ot' the outer dh ameter ofthe sleeve 7?. and matching grooves within the lock screws. The lowerend of the sleeve 72 may be similarly connected to a lower sub (notshown) lor connection to the remainder of the drill string which extendsdownwardly into the well.

Similarly to the valve described in connection with FIGS. l to 6, a pairof tubular members 77 and 73 are disposed coaxially of one another forlongitudinal movcment within the valve body 71, and thus define apassageway 79 therethrough and an annular space 82 between the tubularmembers and the inner diameter of the sleeve portion 72. As was also thecase in the earlier described embodiment, upper and lower seats 83 and83a are formed on the ends of the tubular members 77 and 78,respectively, for seating engagement with opposite sides of a ball-typevalve member 84. Additionally, the space S2 is closed at its oppositeends and a control frame 8S is reciprocal within the spa and connectedwith tbe valve member 84 for rotating it between opened (as yshown inFIG. 7) and closed positions.

Thus, the upper end of the control frame 85 is provided with an annularpiston 86 sealably slidable within the space 82 to define a variablecapacity pressure chamber 87 between the upper closed end 82a of thespace and the upper pressure responsive surface 33 of the piston S.

As in the case of the earlier described valve, the control frame 85 isurged upwardly, or in a direction opposite that toward which it is urgedby control iluid within the chamber 87, and the lower seat a is urgedinto seated engagement with the valve member 34 by spring means disposedwithin the space 82 and bearing upon a thrust ring 89 on the lower endof the frame and a bearing part on the tubular member 78. Furthermore,such spring means is so arranged as to exert a relatively large force onthe control frame, but only a relatively light force on the valve seat.As distinguished from the earlier described valve, however, the springmeans of the valve of FIG. 7 is arranged in a manner to permit theoverall length of the valve to be reduced.

Thus, there is provided. a coil spring 90 supported at its lower end onthe lower closed end (not shown) otc the space 82 and bearing its upperend on thrust ring 89, and a pair of S- haped springs (see detail ofFIG. 8) supported on the upper side of thrust ring 89 and bearingagainst the underside of the enlarged end of tubular member 78 uponwhich seat 83a is formed. While the S springs 91 are of Stichconstruction as to exert only n relatively light force on the seat 83a,the spring 90 is adapted to exert an effective force on the lower end ofthe control frame of sufficient magnitude to positively move the valvemember to closed position upon the rclief of pressure within chamber 87.This effective force is, of course, equal to the upward force due to thespring 90 less the opposing force due to the springs 91.

Control fluid iis admitted to the variable capacity prcssure chamber 87through a port 92 formed in the upper sub 74 so as to maintain the valvein the open position of FIG. 7. In such position, the opening 93 throughthe valve member is aligned with the passageway 'l through the valvebody as well as the inner diameter ot the ilow line, so as to provide astraight-through full opening. Control fluid is forced into theadmitting port 92 through a grease or other check valve fitting fidisposed within a recessed portion 95 of the sub 74. On the other hand,such fluid may be exhausted from the chamber 87 through a port 96connecting at another location with the chamber 87 and communicatingwith a ifrangible closure 97 disposed in another recessed portion 9S olthe sub 74.

Thus, control fluid, which preferably is a fluid grease, oil or water,may be forced through the fitting 94 to move the control frame 85downwardly and rotate the valve member 84 to its open position.Obviously, the fitting 94 retains the control fluid until such time asit is exhausted through port 96. Thus, the valve is closed by breakingthe frangible closure 97 to release the control fluicl contained withinthe chamber S7. That is,

10 as in the ease of the previously described embodiment of the valve,the relatively strong force due to the spring means overcomes theopposing force upon the control frame due to the relieved pressurewithin the chamber S7. In actual practice, when the valve is used in adrill string, as previously mentioned, the frangible plug may be brokenby a hammer blow after either raising or lowering the string, dependingupon whether the valve is disposed above or below the kelly.

It will also be noted that the cunt lugs 99 and lili) on the controlframe and valve body 71, respectively, are disposed closer together thanare the cam lugs 60 and 61 of the valve of FIGS. l to 6. In this manner,the longitudinal travel of the valve member S4 between opened and closedpositions is shortened. Thus, the length of the entire assembly also maybe shortened.

The other features of the valve shown in FIG. 7, and particularly theconstruction of the control frame 85, are substantially similar to thosedescribed in connection with the embodiment of FlGS. l to 6, so thatthey need not be repeated herein.

The embodiment of the valve shown in FIGS. 9 and l0 differs from thosepreviously described in that the eontrol trarne therefor is urgedpositively in both directions by means of a control fluid. Although avalve of this type may be used in substantially the same environments asthe valves previously described, it is contemplated that it will be usedat surface level and in connection with a hydraulic system which permitsthe valve to be moved between opened and closed position by means of thesame source of control fluid.

l-efcrring now more tarticularly to FIG. 9, a valve body 101 isconnectable at opposite ends in a flow line and provided with apassageway 102 therethrough, which preferably is lull-opening in that itcorresponds to the minimum inner diameter of the flow line. Moreparticularly, the valve body lill is made up of an intermediate sleeveportion 163 threadedy and sealably connected at its opposite ends toupper and lower subs 104 and 165. respectively. The passageway 102through the valve body is defined by a pair of coaxially disposed andlongitudinally movable tubular members 166 and 107 arrangedconeentrically within the valve body so as to provide an annular spaceHi8 therebetween.

Each of the tubular members liland 197 are formed with seats 1931:; andllla, respectively, on their inner ends for seating engagement withvalve member 109. As in the case of the earlier described valves, thevalve member 1ll9 is provided with an opening 1l@ therethrough of a sizeto provide a full-opening through the valve, and is rotatable about anaxis disposed transversely of such opening for movement between suchfully opened (FIG. 9) and closed positions. The subs 104 and 195 areprovided with O-rings 111 and 112, respectively, `along their innerdiameters to provide a sliding seal with the outer ends of tubularmembers 106 and 107. Thus, the upper and lower ends 113 and 114,respectively, ol the space 108 are closed so that, as in the case of theearlier described valves, solids within the lluid flowing through thevalve are prevented from passage into the space 108. As shown in FIG. 9,the Orings lll and 112 are sealably slidable with respect to extensions115 and 116 of the tubular members.

A control frame 116 is reciprocable longitudinally within the space 108,and thus protected from solids within the line fluid. As distinguishedfrom the earlier described embodiments of this invention, the controlframe 116 is provided with annular pistons 117 and 118 on both the upperand lower ends thereof which are sealably slidablc within the space 10Sto define a variable capacity pressure chamber 119 between the upperclosed end 113 of the space 108 and the upper pressure responsivesurface 120 of the annular piston IE7, as well as another variablecapacity pressure chamber 121 intermediate thc lower closed end 114 ofthe space 10S and the lower pressure responsive surface 12,2 of theannular piston 118.

In this embodiment of the invention, the control frame 116 includes anintermediate portion 123 which, for aS- sembly purposes, is made up oflongitudinally separated halves held in place by the sleeve portion1113. These halves are connected at their opposite ends to an upperportion 125 having the piston 117 thereon and a lower portion 126 havingthe piston 11S thereon. As in the case of the earlier describedembodiments of the invention. the enlarged portions on the inner ends oithe tubular members 106 and 167 for forming the valve seats 138 and103:1. are interrupted at opposite sides so as to receive thelongitudinally extending parts of the intermediate portion 123 of thecontrol frame. As shown in iGS. 9 and lil, this intermediate portion isprovided with slots 127 on its opposite sides to permit the passagetherethrough of cam lugs 12S ixedly mounted on the valve body 101 andoperatively engaged with cern slots 129 on opposite sides of the ballvulve member 109.

The cam lugs 12S include pivots having parts 12321 rotatable thereaboutfor bearing against opposite sides of the cam slots 129. Cam lugs 130are mounted on the longitudinally extending parts of the portion 123 ofthe control frame for operative engagement with the cam slots 129 on aside ofthe axis oi rotation of the ball valve member opposite to the camlugs 128. Preferably, the Cam lugs mounted on the valve body and thecontrol frame are spaced on opposite sides of this axis of rotation in amanner previously described in Connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1to 6.

As best shown in FIG. 10, each of the pivots for cam lugs 123 isthreadedly received Within a cylindrical mounting 131 welded to theoutside of the valve body 101. The slots 12?' permit the control frameto be moved relatively to the valve body and cam lugs 128.

Each of the upper and lower subs 1134 and 105, respectively, areprovided with ports 132 and 133 which connect with the variable capacitypressure chambers 119 and 121, respectively'. In this manner, a controlfluid may be admitted to one chamber and simultaneously exhausted fromthe other for the purpose of moving the valve member in one direction.For example, with the valve member disposed in the open position of FIG.9, control lluid may be admitted to the pressure chamber 121 through theport 133 and exhausted from the chamber 119 through the port 132. This,ot" course, also moves the control frame 116 and cam lugs 130 upwardlyso as to swing the valve member 109 about the rotational axis of the camlugs 128 fixed to the valve body. As a result, the valve member is movedboth rotatably and longitudinally upwardly to its closed position. Onthe other hand, the valve member may be returned to its open position bythe readmission of pressure fluid into the chamber 119, together withthe simultaneous exhaust of control Huid from the pressure chamber 121.

Furthermore, control lines 134 and 13S may connect the ports 132 and133. respectively, with a four-way valve, illustrated diagrammaticallyat 136 in FIG. 9, so that the same source of control iluid may be usedfor urging the control frame in each opposite direction. That is, asshown in FIG. 9, with the valve 136 in the position shown, control lluidmay be supplied through a line 137 for admission to the chamber 119through port 132. Simultaneously therewith, control fluid from thechamber 121 may be exhausted through the port 133 and the four-way valve136 for return to said source of control huid. Alternatively. of course,the fluid admitted and exhausted with respect to each of the chambers119 and 121 may be from different sources.

It is contemplated that the control fluid for the valve of FlGS. 9 andl() will be at a pressure less than line pressure. For this purpose. thetubular member extensions 115 and llo have pressure responsive areascxposed to line fluid which provide annular pistons lor maintaining theseats lilith and ltlSa in seating engagement with the valve member 109with a relatively light force. Thus, assuming ilow through the valve tobe dow irdly. the admission of control tluid to chamber 119 and itsexhaust from chamber 121 will cause downward movement oi both thecontrol frame and tubular member lila, thereby maintaining seat ItlSbagainst the valve member. On the other hand, although the tubular member1197 is urged upwardly by line pressure acting upon the pressureresponsive area on the extension thereot?, this tubular member, and thusthe seat 10821, are moved downwardly by the bearing of the ball-typevalve member thereagainst. Over-travel in a downward direction isprevented by the abutment of a downwardly facing annular shoulder 116son the extension 116 with the upwardly facing shoulder provided by theenlarged diameter portion o1' the sub 105 within which the extension 116is slidabie.

It may be that in the above-described ease, in which valve member ismoved from closed to open position, downstream line pressure (i.e., thepressure within the line below the closed valve member) is not greaterthan the control pressure. In such a case the downstream seat ltla maynot be maintained in seating engagement with the ball-type valve memberuntil the downstream line pressure approaches that of upstream linepressure.

It is further obvious that the valve may be returned t0 its closedposition by a reversal of the above-described processi.e., by admittingcontrol pressure tothe chamber 121 while relieving it from the pressure119. During this movement of the valve member from opened to closedposition, the line pressure will be the same on both sides of the valvemember during most of the closing movement thereof so that both seatswill be maintained in seating engagement willi the valve member. Also,of course, overtravel in an upward direction is prevented by theabutment of an upwardly facing annular shoulder 115e on the extension115 for tubular member 196 with the downwardly facing shoulder providedby the enlarged diameter portion wtihin upper sub 104.

The embodiments oi the invention [should] shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 andFIGS. 13 to l5 differ from the ernhodiments previously described in thatthe control frame thereof is moved in one direction by line fluid. Also,although the ball-type valve member is rotatable by means olf a coupleexerted by spaced apart cam lugs operatively engageable in slots withinthe valve member, as in the case of the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 10,each set of the cam lugs is movable with respect to the valve body, andin directions opposite to one another. Furthermore, both sets of camlugs are spaced equally on opposite sides of the axis of rotation of thevalve member so that it is rotated between opened and closed positionswithout a simultaneous longitudinal movement.

With reference rst to the valve shown in FIGS. 11 and l2, a valve body138 connectable at opposite ends within a flow line is made up of a rstfemale member 139 which threadedly receives a male member Mtl. Apassageway 141 through the valve body is provided by tubular meansarranged concentriealiy within the valve member so as t0 define anannular space 142 therebetween. More particularly, the tubular means isprovided with seat means thereacross for seating upon opposite sides ofa ball-type valve member 143 having an opening 144 therethrough, androtatable about an axis transverse to the opening between a fully openedposition (FIG. 1l.) and a closed position (FIG. l2). More particularly,the opening 144 is oi substantiallyr the same size as the valve bodypassageway 141, and each is in turn of a diameter corresponding to theminimum internal diameter of the flow line in which the valve isconnected so that the valve is full-opening.

The above-mentioned tubular means comprises rst and second tubularmembers 14S and 146, arranged coaxially oi one another' and having valveseats 147 and 147.1 formed thereon for sealing upon opposite sides ofvalve member 143. More particularly, the tubular members 145 and 146 arefixed against substantial movement longitudinally thereof, although alight spring 148 or the like may be disposed between the outer end oftubular member 145 and an internal shoulder on male member 140 of thevalve body so as to permit some yielding of the seats during rotation ofthe valve member. The tubular member 146 is received within an enlargeddiameter portion of the female member 139 of the valve body and providedwith an O-ring 149 for sealing with respect thereto. This arrangementenables one end 150 of the space 142 to be closed so that, with theseats 147 and 147a seatable upon the ball-type valve member in a mannerto prevent the admission of soli-ds within the line fluid into the space142, and further with the opposite end of the space 142 closed in amanner to be described hereinafter, a control frame 151 reciprocablelongitudinallv within this space is protected against such solids.

A tubular part 152 is disposed within the space 142 tor movementlongitudinally of the valve body and telescopicaily of the control frame151. More particularly, the tubular part 152 is provided with a `piston153 at one end having O-rinigs 154 and 154a thereon sealably slidablewithin the spa-ce to close the end thereof opposite the closed end 150.The control frame 151 is, in turn, provided with an annuiar piston 155sealably slidable within the space 142 between the inner diameter of thevalve body 138 and the outer diameter of the tubular part 152. Thus,there is formed a variable capacity pressure chamber 156 between theclosed end of the space 142 provided by piston 153 and the pressureresponsive surface 157 on the end of the annular piston 155.

As previously mentioned, iboth the cam lugs 158 and 159 which areoperatively engaged with the cam slots 166 on opposite sides of `thevalve member 143 are movable with respect to the valve body 138 and inopposite directions with respect to one another. Thus, the control frame151 comprises a lirst portion 161 having the annular piston 155 thereonand a second portion 162 connected at 163 to the first part for movementtherewith and mounting the cam lugs 159 for bearing against the camslots 160.

The other cam lugs S are mounted upon a portion 164 of the tubular part152 which is connected as at 165 to the remaining portion of said parthaving the piston 153 thereon. As indicated by the broken lines in FIGS.11 and 12, portion 161 of the frame is machined away at 161e to receiveportion 164 of part 152 upon movement of the valve toward the openposition of FIG. l1. Portions 162 and 164 are also slender ofconstruction and spaced slightly apart along opposite edges so as topermit relative longitudinal movement therebetween. More particularly,as in the case of the previously described embodiments, the enlargedportion on the tubular members 145 and 146 is provided with flats (in amanner not shown) so as to accommodate the slender cam lug mountingportions 162 and 164,

The cam lugs 153 and 159 are operatively engaged with the cam slots 160at locations substantially equally spaced from opposite sides of theaxis of rotation of the ball-type valve member 143 so that the valvemember merely rotates between opened and closed positions upon movementof the two cam lug mounting portions in opposite directions. This lattermovement is imparted to the cam lug mounting portions by the admissionand exhaustion of a control fluid with respect to the variable capacitypressure chamber 156. Thus, the valve body 1318 is provided with a port166 to whi-ch a line 167 `may be threadedly connected for eitheradmitting or exhausting a suitable control liuid with respect to thechamber 156.

It will be understood from the drawings that the pressure responsivesurface of piston 153 opposite that within the chamber 156 communicateswith line lluid through the annular space about tubular member 145. Itis 14 equally clear that there will be breathing across the upstreamseat so that the pressure responsive surface of piston opposite thesurface 157 will also be in cornmunication with the line uid. Thus, whencontrol fluid is admitted to the chamber 156 at a pressure in excess ofthat of the line iluid, the pistons 153 and 155 will be moved away fromone another so as to move the valve member to the open position of FIG.1l. The relief of such control pressure below that of line `fluid willpermit the pistons 153 and 155 to be moved toward one another to theposition of FiG. l2 for closing the valve.

As can be seen from FIG. 11, overtravel o-f the control frarne 151 andtubular part 152 telescopically away from one another is prevented bythe engagement of the end 164a 0f the portion 164 of `the 'part 152 withan oppositely facing surface 161b on the portion 161 of the frame. Inthe opposite extreme position, as shown in FG. 12, overtravel isprevented by the engagement of the end 162e of the portion 162 of thecontrol frame 151 with an oppositely facing surface 152e on the portionof the tubular part 152 having the piston 153 thereon.

The embodiment of the valve shown in FIGS. 13 to l5 differs from thatshown in FIGS. 1l and 12 principally in that the valve body 168 thereofis provided with a laterally extending portion 169 `which provides aspace within the valve body outwardly of the passageway 170 throughwithin which the control frame moves in a direction transversely to thevalve body. Thus, `as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the valve body 168 ismade up of male and female parts 171 and 172 connectable in a flow linean another part 173 threadcdly connected within a boss 174 laterallyoutwardly of the part 172, said `boss and part 173 thus defining theportion 169.

Disposed across the body 168 intermediate the opposite ends thereof andin surrounding relation to the passageway 176 are a pair of spaced apartand oppositely facing `valve seats 175 and `175:1 for seatingengagements with opposite sides of the ball-type valve member 176. As inthe case of the earlier described embodiments of this invention, theball-type valve member 176 is provided with an opening 177 therethroughof a diameter corresponding to the passageway 170, and is rotatableabout an axis transverse to the opening between a fully opened position(FIG. 13) and a closed position (FIG. 14.-). More particularly, theseats 175 and 175a may be formed on tubular inserts 178 and 178a,respectively, sezilabiy disposed Within the valve body 16S coaxially ofone another to define the passageway 170 therethrough.

As can be seen from FIGS. 13 and 14, the space within laterallyextending portion 169 of the valve body communicates with the passageway170 intermediate the spaced apart seats 175 and 17521, so that withbreathing across seats 175 and 175a, the space is in communication withline fluid. This space is closed at one end by a piston 179 disposedthereacross and carried upon a part 180 longitudinally reciprocablcwithin the space laterally of the valve body passageway 170. A controlframe 181 is also reciprocable longitudinally within the laterally eX-tending space in the valve body, and is provided with a piston 182telescopicaliy movable over the part 180. More particularly, the piston182 is provided with an O-ring 183 about its inner diameter for sealablysliding over the part and an O-ring 184- on the outer diameter thereoffor sealably sliding within the valve body part 173, so that there isformed between the piston 182 and piston 179 a variable capacitypressure chamber 185.

Each of the part 18) and control frame 181 are provided with portions186 and 187, respectively, for mounting cam lugs 188 and 189,respectively, for operative engagement within cam slots 190 on oppositesides of the valve member 176 and spaced equal amounts on opposite sidesof the axis of rotation of the valve member. More particularly, and asdescribed in connection with the earlier embodiments of this invention,the opposite sides of the bail valve member arc flattened so as toaccommodate the portions 136 and 187 without substantially enlarging thesize of the valve body. Also, as can be seen from FIGS. 13 and 14, theportions 186 and 157 which mount the can] lugs are movable laterally ofthe valve `body passageway 170 in opposite directions with respect toone another intermediate the valve seats 175 and 175a.

Thus. upon expansion of the variable capacity pressure chamber 185 thepistons 17? and 18E. are moved away from one another so as to move thevulve member to the open position of FIG. i3 by raising the cam lugs 139and lowering the cam lugs 183. Gn the other hand, contraction of thechamber 1&5 raises the cam lugs 183 and lowers the com lugs 189 torotate the valve member to the closed position of FIG. 14.

A port 191 is formed in the laterally extending par 173 of the valvebody and a line 192. connects such port with a source of control fluid.The tubular part 18% which mounts the piston 179 is provided with apassageway 193 extending longitudinally therethrough and connceting thelaterally extending space on the upper side of piston 132 of the controlframe with the space beneath piston 179. Thus, the pressure responsivesides of the pistons 182 and 179 opposite to those within the pressurechamber 185 are exposed to pressure within the line, so that the valveis opened upon the admission to chamber 185 of control fluid at apressure above that in the line. Alternatively, the pressure of controltluid within the chamber may be [relived] relieved or lessened belowthat of line fluid to permit the pistons 179 and 182 to be movedteleseo-pically toward one another by the force of line Iluid and thusrotate the valve member to its closed position. Each ol' the tubularpart 139 and control `frame 181 may be provided with ports 19d and 195,respectively, which permit free access of the line uid to the upper sideof piston 132 on the control frame.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth,together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherentto the apparatus.

lt will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubeombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of theclaims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all mannerherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is:

1. A valve, comprising a valve body having a passageway therethrough apair of spaced apart and oppositely facing valve seats in surroundingrelation to an intermediate portion of said passageway', a valve memberhaving an opening therethrough and seatable between said seats foropening and closing said passageway upon rotation about an axistransverse to the opening therethrough, cam slots extending acrossopposite sides of the valve member substantially perpendieularly to theaxis of rotation thereof, means providing a space within the valve bodyoutwardly of the passageway therethrough, means including a controlframe guidably movable within the valve body and having a piston thereonadapted to dcline a variable capacity' pressure chamber Within thespace, means for moving said control frame in opposite longitudinaldirections within the valve body to rotate said valve member betweenopened and closed positions, said last-mentioned means including a portthrough the valve body communicating with the pressure chamber, andmeans for urging said control frame in a direction opposite to thattoward which it is urged by lluid within said chamber, cam lugs on saidcontrol frame operatively engaged with said cam slots, und additionalcum lugs I. lo operatively engaged with said cam slots and mountedagainst movement with the control frame so the cam slots pivotthcreabout upon said longitudinal movement of the control frame.

2. A valve ol the character defined in claim l, wherein said cam slotsare disposed across the axis of rotation of the valve member, and eachof the cam lugs on the oontrol fratne and additional com lugs areoperatively engaged with said cam slots on opposite sides of said axisof rotation.

3. A valve of the character defined in claim l, wherein said valve bodyincludes a pressure responsive surface within said chamber opposite tothe pressure responsive suriaces of the piston therein, and saidadditional cam lugs are mounted on the valve body.

4. A valve of the character defined in claim l, including a partsealabiy guidable within said space relatively to the control frame andhaving a pressure responsive surface within said. chamber opposite tothe pressure responsive surface of the piston therein, said additionalcom lugs being mounted on said part.

5. A valve, comprising a valve body connectabie in a flow line andhaving a passageway therethrough, n pair of oppositcly facinglongitudinally slidable and spaced apart seats in surrounding relationto an intermediate portion o said passageway, a valve member having anopening therethrough and seatable between said seats for opening andclosing said passageway upon the rotation about an axis transverse tothe opening therethrough, a control frame movable in a pathlongitudinally within said valve body eonccntrically outwardly of thepassageway therethrough, means connecting said valve member to saidcontrol frame for rotation between opened and closed positions uponmovement ot' the control `frame in opposite longitudinal directions,said connecting means comprising cam slots on opposite sides of thevalve member, and cam lugs on said control frame and said valve bodyoperatively engaged with said cam slots for imparting longitudinalmovement to the valve member concurrently with its rotational movement,means for urging said control frame in said opposite directions, andmeans for maintaining said seats in seating engagement with said valvemember with a lesser `torce than is exerted upon said control `frame bysaid urging means.

6. A valve comprising a valve body eonnectable in a llow line, tubularmeans having a passageway therethrough and sealably slidablelongitudinally wiuhin the valve body, seat means across said tubularmeans, a valve member having an opening therethrough of a diametersubstantially equal to the diameter of said passageway and seatable onthe seat means for opening and closing the passageway upon rotationabout an axis disposed transversely to the opening therethrough, meansfor urging said tubular means into Seated engagement with said valvemember, means for rotating said valve member between opencd and closedpositions while concurrently moving it longitudinally of the valve body,said last named means including a control frame movable in a pathlongitudinally within the valve body coneentrically outwardly ot` thepassageway, means for moving said control frame in opposite directionslongitudinally within the valve oo-dy, and means connecting said valvemember to said control l'ame and said valve body.

7. A valve of the character delined in claim 6, wherein said connectingmeans comprises cam slots on 0pposite sides of said valve member, andcam lugs on said valve body and said control frame operatively engagedwith said cam slots, said cam lugs on the control frame being engagedwith said cam slots at locations laterally olfsett from the axis ofrotation of the valve member.

3. A valve, comprising a valve body connectable in a iloxv line, tubularmeans having a passageway therethrough and sealahly siidublelongitudinally within and conccntrically or the valve body to provide anannular space therebetween which is closed at both ends, seat means`across an intermediate portion of said tubular means, a valve memberhaving an opening therethrough of a diameter substantially equal to thediameter of said passageway and seatable on the seat means for openingand closing the passageway upon rotation about an axis disposedtransversely to the opening therethrough, means urging said tubularmeans into seated engagement with said valve member, a control framemovable within said space longitudinally of the valve body, means formoving said control frame in opposite directions longitudinally of thevalve body, and means connecting said valve member to said valve bodyand said control frame and responsive to movement of the control framein opposite longitudinal directions for concurrently rotating and movingsaid valve member longitudinally of the valve body between opened andclosed positions.

9. A valve of the character defined in claim 8, wherein said movingmeans includes an annular piston on the control frame sealably slidablewithin said space to provide a variable capacity pressure chamberbetween one closed end of the space and said piston, a port through thevalve member communicating with said chamber, and means for urging saidcontrol frame in a direction opposite to that toward which it is urged`by fluid within the chamber.

10. A valve of the character dened in claim 9, wherein said controlframe urging means comprises ia spring disposed longitudinally withinsaid space and bearing against said control frame.

1l. A valve of the character defined in claim 10, including anotherspring disposed longitudinally within said space and bearing againstsaid tubular means, and an annular piston on the tubular means andarranged within said chamber to urge the tubular means in a directionopposite to that in which it is urged by the springs bearingthereagainst, said springs being so related and arranged and saidpistons on the tubular means and control frame being so related as toexert a considerably smaller force on the valve member than is exertedupon the control frame.

12. A valve of the character defined in claim 9, wherein said controlframe moving means comprises another annular piston on the control framesealably slidable within the space to form a variable capacity pressurecharnber intermediate said other piston and the other closed end of thespace, and a port through said valve body communicating with saidlast-mentioned pressure chamber.

13. A valve of the character dened in claim 12, wherein said means forurging said tubular means into seated engagement with said valve membercomprises annular pistons on said tubular means.

14. A valve of the character dened in claim l2, including a control lineconnecting with each of said ports, and valve means in said control linefor admitting pressure uid to one of said chambers ywhile exhaustingpressure fluid from the other of said chambers.

15. A valve, compri-sing a valve body connectable in a flow line,tubular means having a passageway therethrough and arrangedconcentrically within the valve body to provide an annular spacetherebetween, said tubular means including a tubular member scala-blyslidable within the valve body to close one end of the space and havinga seat thereacross, a valve member having an opening therethrough andseatable on the seat tor opening and closing the passageway uponrotation about an axis disposed transversely to the openingtherethrough, means for urging said tubular member into seatedengagement with the valve member, .a control frame movable in a pathlongitudinally within the valve body concentrically outwardly of thepassageway, an annular piston on the control `frame sealably slidableWithin said space to form a variable capacity pressure chamberintermediate said piston and closed end of the space, a port through thevalve body communicating rwith the pressure chamber, means for urgingsaid control `frame in a direction opposite to that toward which it isurged by pressure fluid within said chamber, and means connecting saidvalve member to said valve body and said control frame and responsive tomovement of the control frame in opposite longitudinal directions forconcurrently rotating and moving said valve member longitudinally of thevalve body between opened and closed positions.

16. A valve of the character dened in claim 9, wherein said tubularmeans also includes another tubular member sealably slidable within thevalve body in substantial axial alignment with the first-mentionedtubular member to close the other end of said space and having a scatthereacross for seating upon the opposite side of said valve member, andmeans for urging said other tubular member into seated engagement withsaid valve member, said control frame being disposed within said`annular space.

17. A valve of the character dened in claim 16, wherein the means forurging said first-mentioned tubular member into seating engagement withthe valve member includes an annular piston thereon within said pressurechamber.

18. A valve of the character defined in claim 17, wherein the annularpiston on said first-mentioned tubular member has a smaller effectivepressure responsive area than that of the annular piston on the controlframe.

19. A valve, comprising a valve body connectahle in a tlow line, atubular member having a passageway therethrough and sealably slidablelongitudinally within and concentrically of the valve body to provide anannular space therebetween which is closed at one end, a seat acrosssaid tubular member, a valve member having an opening therethrough andscalable on the seat for opening and closing the passageway uponrotation about an axis disposed transversely to the openingtherethrough, a control frame movable in a path longitudinally withinthe valve body concentrically outwardly of the passageway, an annularpiston on the control frame sealably slidable within said space to forma variable capacity pressure chamber intermediate said piston and closedend of the space, a port through the valve body communicating with thepressure chamber, means for urging said control frame in a directionopposite to that toward which it is urged `by pressure iluid within saidchamber, means connecting said valve member to said valve body and saidcontrol frame and responsive to movement of the control frame inopposite longitudinal directions for concurrently rotating and movingsaid valve member longitudinally of the valve body between opened andclosed positions, and a pressure responsive surface on said tubularmember within said pressure chamber and arranged to urge said memberinto seating engagement with said valve member.

20. A valve of the character defined in claim 19, `wherein said annularpiston on the control frame has a greater area than that of the pressureresponsive surface on the tubular member.

2l. A valve, comprising a valve body having a passageway therethrough, apair of spaced apart and oppositely facing valve seats in surroundingrelation to an intermediatc portion of said passageway, a valve memberhaving an opening therethrough and seatable on the valve seats foropening and closing the passageway upon rotation about an axis disposedtransversely to the opening therethrough, cam slots on opposite sides ofthe valve member, means enclosing a space within the valve bodyoutwardly of the passageway therethrough, a pair of relatively movableand telescopically arranged parts each having pistons thereon slidablewithin said space to provide a variable capacity pressure chambertherebetween, cam lugs on each of said parts operatively engaged withthe cam slots in said valve member, and means for moving said pistonstoward and away from one another to rotate the valve member betweenopened and closed positions,

said moving means comprising a port through the valve body communicatingwith said chamber, and means for urging said pistons in directionsopposite those toward which they are urged by fluid within said chamber.

22. A valve of the character defined in claim 2l, wherein said valveseats are formed on tubular members arranged concentrically within thevalve body to define the passageway therethrough and the space annularlythereabout, and said parts and pistons thereon are movable within saidspace longitudinally of the valve body.

23. A valve of the character dened in claim 22, wherein said urgingmeans comprises pressure responsive surfaoes on the pistons opposite tosuch surfaces thereon within the chamber and in fluid communication withsaid passageway.

24. A valve of the character defined in claim 2l, wherein said spaceextends laterally from said passageway adjacent said seats, and saidparts and pistons there- On are movable within said space laterally ofthe valve body.

25. A valve of the character defined in claim 24, wherein said urgingmeans comprises pressure responsive surfaces on `the pistons opposite tosuch surfaces thereon within the chamber in fluid communication withsaid passageway.

26. A valve of the character defined in claim 25, wherein the end ofsaid space remote from the passageway is closed to provide anothervariable capacity pressure chamber intermediate said closed end and thelast-mentioned pressure responsive surface on one of said pistons, and apassageway is provided through said one piston for communicating saidpassageway and s-aid last-mentioned pressure responsive surface.

27. A valve, comprising a valve body including an intermediate sleeveportion and pants at each end of the sleeve for connection in a iiowline, tubular means having a passageway therethrough and arrangedconcentrically within said sleeve portion to provide an annular spacetherebetween, which is closed at one end, seat means across said tubularmeans, a valve member having an opening therethrough and seatable on theseat means for opening and closing the passageway upon rotation about anaxis disposed transversely to the opening therethrough, a control framemovable in a path longitudinally within said sleeve portionconcentrically outwardly of the passageway therethrough, meansconnecting said valve member tto said control frame for rotation betweenopened and closed positions upon movement of the frame in oppositelongitudinal directions, means for urging said control frarne in saidopposite longitudinal directions, said means including a spring arrangedwithin said space and bearing upon said control frame to exert a forcethereon effective to urge said frame in one direction relative to oneend part of the valve body, and a releasable connection between saidsleeve portion and the one end part to permit movement of said sleeveportion in the opposite direction relative to said one end part.

28. A valve of the character defined in claim 27, wherein saidreleasable connection comprises a shear pin.

29. A valve member comprising.' a valve body connectable in a fluid Howline and having a chamber space therein,- tubular means providing afluid flow passageway through said body chamber space; seat means onsaid tubular means in the chamber space in said body surrounding saidflow passageway; a valve member having a flow opening therethrough of adiameter substantially equal to the diameter of said passageway of saidvalve body, said valve member being engaged with said seat means androtatable about on axis disposed transversely to the openingtherethrough for opening and closing the passageway; means for holdingsaid valve against movement longitudinally of said body flow passagewayin said chamber space; means for rotating said valve member between openand closed positions about said transverse axis while said valve memberis held against movement longitudinally of said passageway; operatormeans in said chamber space of said body exteriorly of said tubularmeans and movable in said valve body and exposed to the pressure of theuids flowing through said flow passage for movement in said chamberspace in one direction in response to such fluid pressure; meansconnecting said operator means und said valve member ecccntrically ofsaid transverse axis whereby movement of said operator means rotatessaid valve member about said axis between said open and said closedpositions therein, said pressure of the fluids flowing through the flowpassage acting on said operator means to move said operator means in adirection causing rotation of said valve member between said openposition and said closed position independent of the engagement of saidvalve member with said seat means of said tubular means.

30. A valve of the character set forth in claim 29 wherein said meansconnecting said operator means and said valve member comprises com lugmeans on one of said operator means and valve member and cam slot meanson the other of said operator means and valve member.

31. A valve of the character set forth in claim 29 wherein said valvemember is ball-shaped, and said connccting means connecting saidoperator means and said vulve member comprises com lug means on one ofsaid ball-shaped valve member and operator means and cam slot means onthe other of said ball-shaped valve means and operator member.

32. A valve of the character set forth in claim 3] wherein said operatormeans comprises a pair of annular piston members surrounding saidtubular means in said chamber space of said body and movable z'nopposite directions with respect to each other in said valve body anddcning a variable capacity chamber in said body chamber spacetherebetween; means connecting each of said piston members separately tosaid ball-shaped valve member eccentrically of the transverse axisthereof whereby movement of said pistons toward and away from each othercauses rotation of said ball-shaped valve member about said transverseaxis; fluid pressure conduit means communicating said variable capacitychamber to a source of external pressure biasing said pistons away fromeach other; said pistons being exposed on the sides thereof oppositesaid variable capacity chamber to the pressure of the fluids flowingthrough the flow passageway of said vulve body whereby such fluidpressure moves said pistons toward each other in opposition to thepressure in said variable capacity chamber, such movement of saidpistons toward each other causing rotation of said ballshaped valvemember from open position to position closing said passageway.

to said ball-shaped valve member, said con` ncctions between said linkportions and said ball-shaped valve member comprising said cam lug meanson one of said link portions and said ball-shaped valve member and saidcam slot means on the other of said link portions and said ball-shapedvalve member.

34. A valve member comprising.' a valve connectable in a fluid flow lineand having an inlet and an outlet and a chamber space therein betweensaid inlet and said outlet; tubular means in said body providing a fluidflow passageway through said chamber space of said body; setzt means insaid body on said tubular means surrounding said flow passageway; aball-shaped valve member having a flow opening therethrough of adiameter substantially equal to the diameter of said passageway of saidtubular means in said valve body, said valve member being engaged withsaid seat means and rotatable about an axis 21 disposed transversely tothe opening therethrough for opening and closing the passageway; saidtubular means and seat means supporting said valve member and togetherproviding a fiow carrying passageway through said chamber space of saidvalve body between said inlet and said outlet; and means for rotatingsaid valve member about said transverse axis between open and closedpositions while said valve member is engaged by said seat means of saidtubular means comprising: operator means disposed in the chamber spaceof said body exteriorly of said tubular means and sealingly slidable insaid chamber space of said body for operating said valve; meansconducting pressure of the fluids flowing through said flow passage ofsaid body to said operator means whereby such fluid pressure moves saidoperator means in one direction in said chamber space in response tosaid Huid pressure; means connecting said operator means and said valvemember eccentrically of said transverse axis whereby movement of saidoperator means rotates said valve member about said axis between saidopen and said closed positions relative to said seat means, saidpressure of fluids {iowing through the flow passage acting on saidoperator means to move said operator means in a direction causingrotation of said valve member to one of said closed and open positions;fiuid pressure means moving said operator means in the oppositedirection to such one direction, whereby said valve member is movedtoward said other of said open and closed positions; and means biasingsaid tubular means into supporting seating engagement with said valvemember independently of the force acting on said operator means, wherebythe force of the pressure acting on said operator means causes rotationof said valve member independently of the support provided by saidtubular means and said seat means for said valve member.

35. A valve of the character set forth in claim 34 wherein said operatormeans comprises a pair of piston members movable in opposite directionswith respect to each other within said chamber space of said valve bodyand dehning a variable capacity chamber between said pistons within saidchamber space; means connecting each of said piston members separatelyto said ball-shaped valve member eccentrically of the transverse axisthereof whereby movement of said pistons toward and away from each othercauses rotation of said ball-shaped valve member about said transverseaxis; fluid pressure conduit means communicating said chamber to asource of external fluid pressure moving said pistons away from eachother; said pistons being exposed on the sides thereof opposite saidchamber to the pressure of the fluids fowing through the flow passagewayof said valve body whereby such fluid pressure moves said pistons towardeach other in opposition to the pressure in said variable capacitychamber, such movement of said pistons toward each other causingrotation of said ball-shaped valve member from open position to positionclosing said passageway.

36. A valve of the character set forth in claim 35 wherein said meansconnecting said pistons with said ballshaped valve member comprises alink portion extending separately from each of said pistons to saidball-shaped valve member and each connected at its end spaced from saidpiston to said ball-shaped valve member, said connections between saidlink portions and said ball-shaped valve member comprising cam lug meanson one of said link portions and said ball-shaped valve member and camslot means on the other of said link portions and said ballshaped valvemember.

37. A valve of the character set forth in claim 35 wherein said meansconnecting each said pistons with said ball-shaped valve membercomprises a link portion extending separately from each of said pistonsto said ballshaped valve member and each connected at its end spacedfrom said piston to said ball-shaped valve member at a point spacedeccentrically and on the opposite side of the transverse axis of saidvalve member from the point of connection of the other link with saidvalve mem- 22 ber, whereby said movement of said pistons relative toeach other in said chamber space causes rotative movement of said valveabout said transverse axis.

38. A valve of the character set forth in claim 34 wherein said operatormeans comprises a pair of annular piston members surrounding saidtubular means in said chamber space of said body and movable in oppositedirections with respect to eaclz other in said chamber space andsealingly engageable with said body for defining a variable capacitychamber therebetween within said body chamber space; means connectingeach of said piston menzbers separately to said ball-shaped valve membereccentrically of the transverse axis thereof whereby movement of saidpistons toward and away from each other causes rotation of saidball-shaped valve member about said transverse axis; fiuid pressureconduit means communicating said chamber to a source of externalpressure moving said pistons away from each other; said pistons beingexposed on the sides thereof opposite said chamber to the pressure oftlze fluids fiowing through the #ow passageway of said valve bodywhereby such fluid pressure moves said pistons toward each other inopposition to the pressure in said variable capacity chamber, suchmovement of said pistons toward each other causing rotation of saidball-shaped valve member from open position to position closing saidpassageway.

39. A valve member comprising: a valve connectable in a fluid flow lineand having an inlet and an outlet and a chamber space therein betweensaid inlet and said outlet; tubular means in said body providing a fiuidflow passageway through said chamber space of said body; seat means insaid body on said tubular means surrounding said flow passageway; aball-shaped valve member having a flow opening therethrough of adiameter substantially equal to the diameter of said passageway of saidtubular means in said valve body, said valve member being engaged withsaid seat means and rotatable about an axis disposed transversely to theopening therethrough for opening and closing the passageway; saidtubular means and seat means supporting said valve member and togetherproviding a flow carrying passageway through said chamber space of saidvalve body between said inlet and said outlet; and means for rotatnigsaid valve member about said transverse axis between open and closedpositions while said valve member is engaged by said seat means of saidtubular means comprising: operator means disposed in the chamber spaceof said body exteriorly of said tubular means and sealingly slidable insaid chamber space of said body for operating said valve; meansconducting pressure of the fluids flowing through said flow passage ofsaid body to said operator means whereby such fluid pressure moves saidoperator means in one direction in said chamber space in response tosaid fluid pressure; means connecting said operator means and said valvemember eccentrically of said transverse axis whereby movement of saidoperator means rotates said valve member about said axis between saidopen and said closed positions relative to said seat means, saidpressure of fluids flowing through the flow passage acting on saidoperator means to move said operator means in a direction causingrotation of said valve member to one of said closed and open positions;means moving said operator means in the direction opposite to such onedirection whereby said valve member is moved toward said other of saidopen and closed positions; and means biasing said tubular means intosupporting seating engagement with said valve member' independently ofthe force acting on said operator means whereby the force of thepressure acting on said operator means causes rotation of said valvemember independently of the support provided by said tubular means andsaid seat means for said valve member.

(References on following page) References Cited in the le of this patentor the original patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Moore May 20, 1930 BuggJuly 14, 1953 5 Hackman May 17, 1955 24 En Dean Mar. 19, 1957 HerbenarAug. 19, 1958 Bostock July 14, 1959 Fredd Oct. 13, 1959 Sizer Dec. 6,1960 Matheson etal. Oct. 2, 1962

